Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 108
My Heart Is Steadfast
(Psalm 108:1-5 parallels Psalm 57:7-11)
(Psalm 108:6-13 parallels Psalm 60:5-12)
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A song. A psalm by David.
David’s Confident Praise
1 My heart is steadfast, O God.
I will sing and I will make music.
Indeed, I will sing with all my being.[a]
2 Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will give you thanks among the peoples, Lord,
and I will make music to you among the nations,[b]
4 because your great mercy reaches above the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
David’s Prayer
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 So that the ones you love may be rescued,
bring salvation by your right hand and answer me.
David’s Confidence in God’s Help
7 God has spoken in his holiness.[c]
I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.[d]
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us?
Is it not you, O God, who no longer go out with our armies?
12 Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
13 In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.
Saul Is Anointed as King
9 From the tribe of Benjamin there was a man whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a strong warrior and influential person.[a] 2 He had a son named Saul, who was an impressive young man. Among the men of Israel there was not a better man than Saul. He was a head taller than all the people.
3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish were lost, so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of our young men with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 4 So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. Then they traveled through the land of Sha’alim[b] but found nothing. Then he traveled through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find the donkeys.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man who was with him, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”
6 But the young man said to him, “Wait! In this city there is a man of God, who is highly regarded. Everything he says actually comes true. So let’s go there. Maybe he can tell us which way we should go.”
7 Then Saul said to his young man, “If we go, what should we bring for the man? Look, the bread in our bags is used up, and we do not have a gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?”
8 The young man responded to Saul, “Look here. I have a quarter of a shekel[c] of silver in my hand. I will give that to the man of God to tell us which way we should go.”
9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because the man who is now called a prophet used to be called a seer.)
10 So Saul said to his servant, “Good advice. Come on! Let’s go!” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”
12 They answered them, “Yes, he is. He is there just ahead of you. Hurry! He has just come into the city today, because the people are presenting a sacrifice today at the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, since the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, those who have been invited will eat. So go up, right now, for this is the time for you to find him.”
14 So they went up to the city. Just as they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way to the high place.
Jesus Drives Out Demons
14 Jesus drove out a demon, which was mute. After the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others were testing him by demanding of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed. And a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? You say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 But if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So they will be your judges. 20 Yet if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder.
23 “The one who is not with me is against me. The one who does not gather with me scatters. 24 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, but does not find any. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house, the one I left.’ 25 When it returns, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and dwell there. The last condition of that man becomes worse than the first.”
The Sign of Jonah
27 While he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
28 But he said, “Even more blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.